THE MAXIMUM intake for primary and secondary pupils in Glasgow schools will be amended in line with the catchment area for each school next year.
As it stands the maximum number of primary ones allowed in any class is 25. Numbers will now depend on the size of the school, number of classrooms and the number of children living in the catchment area.
The decision comes after a review of the number of children registered at each school from Tuesday, October 8.
It means that the caps proposed are “notional” and may be subject to change depending on the number of children in each school’s catchment area.
READ MORE: Glasgow school campus cops 'under threat' amid funding change
The decision was discussed at Glasgow City Council’s city administration committee on Thursday.
Councillor Chris Cunningham said: “The council must view the overall capacity of our schools.
“We should be taking into account the demands for placing requests and the number of children in each school.”
After decades of population decline, the number of people living in the city is increasing with the primary age population expected to increase further between 13 per cent and 18 per cent.
In October 2014 the Scottish Government issued national guidance to determine the capacity of primary schools.
The maximum numbers of primary one pupils was set at 25, 30 for primary two and three and 33 for primary four to primary seven.
Composite classes have a maximum of 25 pupils.
READ MORE: Glasgow childcare charity not at full capacity despite demand
The new cap means that the movement of one child either in or out of the school can affect the number of children that can be accommodated in primary one at the start of a new term.
The statutory maximum class sizes for secondary pupils in S1 and S2 is 33 pupils, 30 for S3 to S6 and 20 for practical classes.
The council believes capping is essential to manage capacities and ensure that an effective timetable can be designed that provides all young people with a breadth of opportunities and learning experiences.
Councillor Cunningham continued: “The cap on primary schools was determined by the Scottish Government. The council’s policy states that the needs of the catchment areas are met.”
A table of the new intake figures for each primary and secondary school has been published on the council’s website.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here